Glow
by Howlitzer
Summary: All the things I see, without a glance.


a/n: Actuation.

* * *

"If you have to think about it, it probably isn't worth doing."

He looked up from his reading.

"What?" she asked.

"That is ridiculous logic." The black hedgehog focused his attention on the book again. His too-lightly dressed companion hopped over the back of the luxurious couch he was sitting on and gracefully floated into her favourite seat beside him. She smiled and leaned over to look at his selection for the day. Frowned a moment later at the text.

"That's gloomy stuff."

"Necessary."

"Contemplating death?"

"A life where it is beyond my reach."

"Sounds like a dream. Or a nightmare."

"So you understand."

"It's a shame that beauty fades so easily."

He looked over at her. She tilted her head and smiled.

"You're thinking it too," she said.

He said nothing and went back to his book. "I am."

"Ooh. Who are you thinking of?"

"You."

"So blunt. So forceful. You really know how to work a girl up."

"I don't mind feeding your ego from time to time. It is among the least of things I can do."

Rouge fluttered her lashes. "A compliment from a hunk like you? Hardly the least."

"I wouldn't call myself a...whatever that word was you used." He turned a page. The light of the nearby lamp put a shine to his red eyes.

"You're always amusing, you know."

"And you're always underdressed."

"I didn't think you minded."

"I don't."

"Then why point it out?"

"To needle you. You enjoy the attention."

"You mean from guys?"

"I mean from me."

"I can't lie about that. But..."

"It's comfort. Around me."

"Oh, so you know."

"I pay attention. Like I pay attention to you. You're getting plump."

She laughed. "Am I?"

"I like the change."

Even as she smiled, a blush crept onto her cheeks. "You're so confusing sometimes."

"Am I?"

"You definitely are." She pulled her legs onto the couch. "But I like that about you. I like a lot of things about you."

"You like too many things about me. It makes me wonder."

"About?"

"Whether you're just another version of her."

"Who?"

"You know who."

She paused in thought. The image came to her and she pouted. "That's low."

"It wasn't meant as an...well."

"I'll kill you."

He gave her a sidelong glance. "I welcome the embrace of death."

"You would if I snuggled the life out of you."

"Most men would."

"Are you most men?"

He grunted and went back to his reading.

"I love you, you know."

"I know. Do you also lust after me?"

"Sometimes, when I'm alone. Other times, when we're together. Mostly, not at all. But I think...it would be fun."

"I see."

"What about you?"

"I love you also...Rouge."

"And more than that?"

"I am not yet liberated in that manner."

"I guess I can live with that."

"Can you?"

"I have some restraint, you know! And besides...I get nice and tingly when you scratch behind my ears just right. I can live with that much."

He made a contemplative sound. "I am sure my physical prowess is unmatched."

Her eyes floated upwards in thought. She licked her lips at the images coming to mind.

"I won't reveal how much information I've consumed on the subject. Suffice it to say it is enough."

"You did that for me?" she asked.

"Possibly."

A grin. "Terribly lewd."

"Yes." He turned another page.

"...I'm also contemplating it."

"A life where death is beyond your reach? Do you mean to join me?"

"I do."

"If diamonds are forever, you wonder why you can't be as well."

She looked at him, even as he kept his attention focused on the book. "Why is it that you know so much?"

"So little. You are more complex than that, even if you don't want to admit as much."

"..." She placed a hand on her cheek.

"Why is it that you think I love you?"

"Is it that...you see beyond the polished veneer? Something like that?" she asked.

"You are the moon's glow, made with a mischevous smile. With sharp teeth and soft curves."

"Heh."

"Amusing?"

"You said that without looking at me, you know."

He turned his head towards her. She pondered and then grinned, with her bright and sharp teeth.

"But you've said it for years...without a word."

"You are more brilliant than you could realize, sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

He raised a brow before turning back to his book.

"Only sometimes."

She laid her head on his lap. Without a second thought, he reached behind her ear and massaged it gently.

Her eyes closed and she purred softly, to his silent delight as he read.


End file.
